Tea-balling machine



Nov. 24, l925- J. PIERCE TEA BALLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 7, 1924 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov.24,1925. Y f 1,563,106

J. PIERCE TEA BALLING MACHINE Filed Aug.4 7, 1924 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 24, 1925- J. PIERCE TEA BALLNG MACHINE Filed Aug. '7. 1924 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 TEA BALLING MACHINE Filed Aug. '7. 1924 a sheets-sheet' 5 Nov. 24, 1925. 1,563,106

J. PIERCE TEA BALLING MACHINE d Aug. 7. 1924 8 Sheets-Sheet e I 54, zn. Yb/////////// Nov. 24, 1925. 1,563,106

J. PIERCE TEA BALLNG marinus:`

Nov. 24, 1925. 1,563,106

, J. PIERCE TEA BALLING MACHINE Filed Aug. '7, 1924 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented Nov. 24,

vUNITI-:1D STATES y VPA'I'EN'IP ,OFFlC-. Jon-NPIEECE, oEsoU'rHBUEY, CONNECTICUT. I

` TEA-EALLINC MACHINE. L Application mea August 7 1924. seal No. '73o,7c4.

Fig. 13 a view in transverse sectioiron the line 13H13 ofFig. ing-mechanism'.l

' Fig. 14 a brokenview in rear :elevation of 4the gauze feeding-and-cutting mechanlsm,

Fig. 15 abroken,` detail view, showing the 50 gauze-feed rack and the gauze-'feed ratchetpinion. l

' Fig. 16 fly plate. Fig. 17 a. detached, plan the` gauze blanks.

Fig. 1 a'view in front' elevation of atea- Fig. 18 a detached view of a tea-ball' balling machine constructed in' accordance prior to the trimming operation. with my invention, the parts being in their Vnormal positions', preparatory t'o being started` for the cycle required for the lproduction of a tea-ball.

Fig. 2 a view thereof in left-hand elevation, with Ithe conveyor-housing partly broken away and partly in section, the parts being shown in the -same position as in 25 :Fig.' 3 a view thereof Acorresponding to Fig. 2,' but' showing the parts in the positions due to them when the plunger is at the limit of its. downward movement. V

. Fig. '4: a plan view of the machine, with theparts in .their normal positions, as in 4Fig. 5 abroken, sectional view, on an en- To all whom #may concern;

'Be it known that I, JOHN PIERCE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at South; bury, in the county of New Haven and State 5 of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tea-Balling Ma'-y chilies; and I do hereby declare the following, when'taken in connection withtheaccompanying drawings, and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a' full. clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in

a detached, plan view of the gauzel' view of one of 55 Fig. 19 a similar view of the completed teaball,-the" product of the product of the 7 machine.

My invention relates to an improvement in. tea-balling machines, as machines for measuring and confining small,` predeterc mined measures or portions of tea in gauze are called, the object of my present invention being `toproduce an easily-operated and effective machine having a' large` capacity forv work, and constructed witlf particular reference to automatically sup- 8 plyin'g to the mechanism' the gauze required v for vthe bags. i

With these ends in view, my 'invention consists in a te-a-balling machin'echaracterized by its provision, .in-addition to' other cential `features, of means for automazti-` cally feeding gauze blanks at predet'ermined4 intervals between itsdie andplunger, prior to tliexdeslcentjof-the plunger into the die.

Myinvcntion further consists in 'a ma- Fig. 6 a`detail, perspective view, showing the train of 'parts' between the starting- 'manual and the clutch-lever.

Fig. 7' a broken vlew 1n transverse section,

1, showing the check- 5? f on 'the line 747 .of Fig. 1, and showing the conveyor-cam and its immediate connections.-

chine' characterized as aboveand having fur-v ther ydetalls' of construction and Lcombinations of partsas willv be hereinafter described and pointed out' in the claims. a The main features 4of my improved' machine, las herein' illustrated, 'are apaircf 'feed-rolls 20ffor intermittently feeding a 'gauze-strip 21 between 'knives 22 and 23',

which act t'o cut the strip into bag-g-blanlrs.`

duced into an oscillating iiy. 25,v 1n which Fig. 111 a-detail view in'horz'ntal section the said bag-blanksareswung overthe to on-the line 11-11 of Fig-'10i' of a hollow, tutandlng die 26' located d1- Fi A12 a' view in transverse :section on re'ctly under t e lower :lend ofa hollow thegliprne 12-12of Fig. 1, showinga detail langer 27 havinga' feed-openin'g'28through Vof the mechanism.

'Fig.1 8` a view in transverse section on the line 8--8 of Fig. 1, showing the trimmer-operatingfmechanism. Fig. 9' a view in t'ransverse section on the line 9-.9 of Fig. 1 showing4 theflymperaff 'n'gfmechanism.- r

Fig. y10 anview in transverse section on the ine 10-10 of Fig. '1, showing the plunger- 1 "op'erating mechanism@ which a predetermined quantity ormcaure the strip has been intro- 1' or portion of tea. is fed -into the plunger from an oscillatingmeasuring-cup 29, to

ywhich the tea is fed by buckets 30 on a chain-conveyor 31 intermittently driven by a sprocket-wheel 32 enclosed in .a fiat conveyor-housing 33. Another main feature of the machine 1s a pair of trimming-knives 34 and 35 loca-ted adjacent to a starting-manual 36, wihiclris depressed to start the machine for each cycle of its operation.

Having thus identified the main features of my improved machine, I shall proceed to describe the same in detail.

The roll of gauze 37 is carried by ,a spindle 38 removably mounted in slotted brackets 39 upstanding from a machine-table 40 supported on legs 41. From the roll 37 the gauze-stri 21 1s passed under a tensionroller 42 e to play up and down in slotted guides 43, whereby the slack in the gauze 1s taken up. gauze-strip thence runs upward over an idler 44, over the right-hand feed-roll -20 and thence downward between it and the left-hand feed-roll 20.

For intermittently driving the two feedrolls 20, they are provided with intermeshlng gear-wheels 45, while the right-hand roll 1s also provided at its opposite end with a pinion 46 driven by a gear-wheel 47 mounted upon a stud 48 (Fig. 15) and furnished with a collar 49 secured to it by screws 49 encircled by a ratchet-pinion 50 driven by a vertical rack 51. For coupling the ratchet-pinionl 50 with the'shaft'48 for tu-rliing the latter step by step in one direction, I employ three rollers 52 respectively co-a'cting with three equal cam-surfaces 53 formed 50 and upon the. inner periphery of the said pinion riding upon the collar 49 aforesaid, the said -rollers being normally crowded into the wedge-shaped pockets 54 forined, be-l tween the said surfaces 53 and the periphery of the collar 49, by'small helical springs 55. When the rack is moved upward, the ratchetwheel 50 turns idly with respect to the collar 49, which remains stationary. On the other hand, when the ratchet moves downward, the rollers 52 are pinched between the periphery of\the collar 49 and the cam-sur- .faces 53, with'the effect of coupling the pinion 50 with the collar 49 and hence with the shaft 48, which is turned with the. effect of driving the roll 47, pinion 46, and hence 'the feed-rolls 20 the distance required for feeding a single bag-len h of gauze from the roll 37 into the oscil ating y 25.

'For the operation of the rack5'1, its lowerl end 1s connected by a rod 56 (Fig. 12) with the upper end 'of a lunger' 57 v in a bea-rin 58 on the table 40t e lower end of the said plunger Ibeing furnished with a roller 5 9 riding upon an eccentric 60. on the mainshaft 61 of the machine. The said eccentric 60 lifts the plunger 57 foridly advancing the ratchet-pinion 50, while, to insure the` .downward or feeding stroke of the Iplunger,

plunger57, in case it does not'descend by gravity.

When the rolls 20 have fed the gauzestrip 21 through the vertical guideway 64 into the Iiy 25 to the pro v er extent, the` fed endl of the strip is cut o lby the knives 22 and 23 aforesaid. The fixed knife 22 is secured in an inclined position to a forward extension 65 of a circular head 66 having a rearwardly-extending brace-arm 67 secured to the'rectangular plunger-housing 68 (Fig.l 4). The said head 66 forms a bearing for the upper end of a verticallyarranged, oscillating shaft 69 also having bearing in the table 40 and provided at its lower en'd with a head 70 having an arm 71 carrying a roller 72 coactin with a gauzecutting cam 73 on the main s aft 61 and also with a knife-opening cam 74 mounted upon the said shaft on t e opposite side of the roller 72 and serving to swing the knife 23 into its open position.

The fly, designated in its entirety .by the numeral 25, comprises a perforated plate 75 secured to a head 76 (Fig. 1) mounted at its lower end upon a shaft 77 journaled in a bearing l78 upstanding from the table 40. At its rear end, the shaft 77 carries a pinion 79 meshed into by a rack 80 fastened to a vertically-arranged plunger 81 mounted in the table 40 and forked at its ,lower end for the reception ofa roller'82 ridin upon the periphery of the cam 74 aforesai A helical spring 83 interposed between the lower face of the table 40 and the fork on the lower end of the plunger 81, exerts a constant efi fort to keep the roller 82 in engagement' with the periphery ofL the cam 74,' and,

therefore2 to swing the {iy from its upright 'i or receiving to its horizontal ordelivering position. The perforated' plate 75 of the gauze-fly (Fig. 16) has a central clearanceopening 84, from which a clearance-passage.

85 leads to its outer edge. A horizontal bar 86, secured to the inner face of the plate,

near the lower end thereof, carries a .plurality of parallelv retaining-wires 87 spaced apart, as shown in Fig. 2, the two central wires being 'qutwardly bowed, as at 88, to clear the opening 84 in the plate 75. 'The Space between the plate 75 andthe wires 87 Y is'just wide enough to'perinit the fed end of vthe gauze-strip 25 to enterbetween them.

just above described,'from its vertical into its horizontal position, as shown by bro-ken the plungeris iared as at 89 and the bottom of the die provided with a cushion 90. The fly is now swung back into its vertical or gauze-receiving lposition to await the next succeeding actuation of the feed-rolls, the retirement of the fiy with the plunger still in the die being permitted by the provision of the plate 75 with the clearance-passage 85 and by the spacing apart of the central pair of wires 88.

The upper end ofthe plunger 27 is secured to a head 91 carried by the downwardly-bent end of a horizontal arm 92, the opposite end 'of which is entered, with capacity for adjustment, intothe overhanging clamp 93 of a-cap 94 mounted upon the 'upper end of a rack-bar 95 (Fig. 10) entering the upper end of the housing 68 (Fig. 11), in which it is guided and reciprocates. The said rack 95 is nieshed `into by a gear 96 on a horizontal shaft 97, journaled at its ends in the endwalls of the housing and also carrying a pinion 98 driven by ra rack-bar 99 l cated within the housing andr extending t ownwardly, through the table for co-nnection. by a link 10() to therear end of a -lever 101 hung by its opposite end in a bracketl02 dependingifrom thev table 40. The said'le-l ver carries a roller' 103/'riding upon a cam 104 on the main-shaft 61. Under this construction, the said cam 104 serves to lift the hollow plunger 27 which descends by gravity. By employingtwo racks and connecting them by pinions 96 and 98 of different diameters, the relatively small movement of. the rack 99 is multiplied in the rack 95 for lifting the plunger 27 above the die 26 to the height required for 'ample hand-room for.

the operator. `When the said Iplunger is at the limit of its depressed'position, as shown in'Fig.'-3,'. lts charging-opening 28 is brought-into po sition to receive a measured amount of tea from the oscillating' measuring Icup 29,l

which is 4mounted upon an arm 105 secured to one end lof a short shaft 106 journaled in a. horlzontal guide-bar 107 .and having its .opposite end lfurnished with a pinion 108 meshed into by a horizontal. rack 109 located :1t the forward-end of a slide 110 moving back and forth upon the said guide-bar. At its rear end, the slide is furnished with two rollers 1.11 and 112, receiving between them the bent arm 113 of an actuating plate 114 fastened to a bracket 115 in turn secured.. to

3 and 4).

The said measuring cup 29 lis located within the fiat, upright housing 33 already the upper end of fthe rack-bar`95 (Figs. 2,-

mentioned, the bar'107 being applied to the i outer face of one of the side-walls-of the same.

When the measuring cup 29is in its receiving position, as shown `in Fig. 2, itreceives a charge of tea, deflected upon it from a series of bathe-plates 116 located between the side-walls of the housing 33 and designed to cause the tea to gently flow into the measuring cup, after its discharge from one of the buckets 30 upon theup-permost of these plates.

The chain-conveyor 31, carrying the buckf ets 30, is intermittently actuated bymeans of a sprocket 32 (Fig. 2) mounted upon one end of a shaft 117 journaled in the upper end of the conveyor-housing 33 and carrying a three-point ratchet-wheel 118, the points of which arel successivelyv engaged a spring-actuated pawl 119 radially mounted in an oscillating driving-ring 120 having t aslotted arm 121 by`means of which it is adjustably connected with a head 122at` the upper end of an actuating-rod 123 (Fig. 7),

the lower end of which is connected with a. lever 124, the opposite end of which is hung ets 30 to discharge its contents of tea upon the baflie-plates 116.

The knives 434 and 35 (Figs. 1,- 2, 3 and 8) elnployed for trimming the neck ofthe teaball, are located within'a hand-breadth of thestarting-manual 36, the fixed knife A35 being fastened to the forward edge of the table 40 and the movable knife 34 being hung' uponva stud 128 andhaving'a depending arm y129 connected .with a slidinglever 130,

the opposite end of which rides betweent'wo *11rrollers 131 in a bracket 132, depending from lthe table 40. The lever'130 has two corresponding arms 133 alternately engaged by a y roller 134 in a crank 135 on the shaft 61.

The manual 36 (Figs. 1 andv6), employedfor starting the machine, is mounted upon. the, horizontal arm vof a' bell-crank-leverl 136, hun on a pivot .137 in the-table 40a'nd -v- A 'connecte by a rod 138 with a leven 139 hung on a stud MU-andengaged atits outer end with the arm 141" of a bell-crank-lever hung on a stud 142 and' having its opposite arm 143 arranged to enga with a= nin 144 mounted in aslide 145 (Fgig. 5), in theupi per portion ofv a clutch-housing 146 dependmg from the under-face of the table at the left-hand end of the machine. A spring 147 normally holds Vthe slide 145 in its depressed position. The projecting lower end of the slide 145 extends into the path of the outwardly extending arm 148 of a couplingdog rocking'upo'n a pivot 149 in a crank 150 pinned to the main-shaft 61. The 'other arm 151 of the said. dog is adapted to engage the respective teeth of a series of internal -teeth 152 formed within a driving-ring 153 secured to one face of a worm-wheel 154 turning loosely upon the main-shaft 61 and driven by a worm 155 on a worm-shaft 156 journaled in' the bottom' ofthe housing 146 and carrying a pulley 157 .connected with any convenient source of power. The wormshaft 156, worm 155, worm-wheel 154 and the driving-ring 153 will be continously driven. A spring 158, attached to the coupling-dog above described, tends to engage the arm 151 thereof, with onevof the teeth 152 of the continuously-driven ring 153.

In describing the operation of my improved machine, it will be convenient to assume that the parts thereof are in the positions shown in the drawings (excepting Fig. 3) and that-a gauze-blank 24 has been cut olf from the fed end of the gauze-strip and is confined in the fly in the upright position thereof It must also be assumed. that the measuringlcup is full of tea. The operator now presses down'upon the starting-manuall 36, bringing the bell-crank-lever 136, rod 138 and lever 139 into play for rocking the bellcrank on the stud 142 (F i0. 6).,whereby the arm 143- of the said' be l-crank is liftedagainst the pin 144 with the effect of lifting the slide 145,. against the tension of the spring 147, so as to clear the lower end of the said slide from the .projecting arm 148 of the two-armed coupling-dog. The spring 158 ,at once asserts itself to rock the coupling-l vdog into position for the engagement with the particular tooth 152 of the continuouslyrotating ring 153, which happens to be passing at the time, whereby the said ring is cupled with the crank-arm 150 pinned to the main-shaft 612 causing the same to turn witlij the driving-ring, whereby the machine is started l-for the production of one tea-ball, after which it will be stopped. V

In `the timing of. the machine, which is regulated by the relative positio `nin,f of the several cams upon the shaft 61, the' crankarm 135 is immediately brought into play for operating the' knife 34, which would trim the neck of a tea-ball if the operator had one in readiness to insert between the two knives 34 and 35.y The cam 74 now operates permissively to allow the spring 83- to assert itself and swing the fly from its upright to its horizontal position, whereby the bag-blank carried by it is ositioned over the -hollow die, as shown in Fig. 3. Thecam 104 now operates, permissively, to allow the hol- As the plunger 27 descendsJ into the die,

the actuating-plate 114, connected' with it, acts through the roller' 112 to push the slide 110 forward, whereby the measuring-cup 29 islifted from its horizontal or receiving position and, swung over into its inclined; de-l livery position, in which it is shown 1n Fig.

3, whereby the tea4 contained in it is discharged into the hollow plunger through the opening 28 therein, so that, by the time the plunger reaches the kbottoni of the die, and has folded the bag thereinto, the tea has gravitateddown into the folded bag. The cam 74 now operates to positively liftthe plunger 81 and hence to swing. the'ly 25 back into its uprightgauze-receiving position. vThe cani 104 now operates to liftxthe hollow lunger 27, not only'. above the die 26,

but su ciently above Vthe saine to provide ample hand-room yabove the die for the operator. Just as soon as the hollow plunger starts to lift, the lower end of the actuatingplate 114 beginsl to co-act with the roller 111v to retract the slide '110, whereby the measuring'cup 29 is swung back into its horizontal tea-receiving position (Fig. 2).-

Thecam 127 now operates to impart another short, advance movement to the conveyor, whereby another bucket of tea is poured upon the baille-plates 116, from which 1t falls `into "the measuring-cup 29. Meanwhile, the feed-rolls 20 have been actuated in feeding another length of gauze into the now .upright fly 25 and the knife 23 hasbeen actuated by the cam 73 in cutting ofi' another gauze blank preparatory to the next cycle of operation of the machine. The cycle-.just now described is now terminated by the engagement of the projecting arm 148 of the two-armed coupling-dog witlLthe lower end of the slide 145, whereby the dog is rocked on its center 149 and its arin 151 disengaged from #the tooth 152 of the'constantly-rotatingring 153 with which it has been engaged during the 1 cycle now closing. T he main shaft 61 stops, leaving the driving-ring and worm still turning. ,As stopped, the .machine is in readiness ,for another cycle, with the gauze-blankl in readiness in the fly.and 4'the measuring-cup filled with` tea. 'Assoon as the hollow plunger has been sufliciently raised to give her hand-room,.the operator,-

using a. piece of string 160, firmly ties the neck'of the vbag just made, producing the untrimmed tea-ball 161 shownin Fig. 18,

with its string 160 and tag 162. The girl then lifts the said tea-ball out of the die and of the tea-ball into the V-shaped space 163, the palm of her right hand strikes the manual 36 and depresses the same for starting the machine for another cycle, the first effect being to cause the automatic movement ofthe knife 34 toward the knife 35, so as totrim the neck of the tea-ball, to form the Hning theshaft 61 when the cam 104 is operatnthrough it of the plunger.

ing to permit the said plunger to descend by gravity, Iv provide the shaft 61 with an eccentric disc 165 intermittently engaging a pivotal brake-bar 166 hung upon a 'stud 167 in one of the tableflegs 41, and forced toward the disc 165 by a helical spring 168. VThe brake-bar 166 is provided with a stop-screw 169 normally resting upon a lug 170 on the machine table-leg 41, as shown in Fig. 13.

1. A tea-:ballingmachine having a plunger andal die, means for supplyingjea in prede- ,termined an'lounts'thereto, and'm'eans for a`utomatically feeding bag-blanks at predetermined intervals horizontally between the said die and lunger prior to the descent of the plunger 'iito the die, the said means including a Hy constructed for -the passage 2. A tea-balling machine having a plunger anda die, means for supplying tea inpredetermined amounts thereto, a Hy forlintrducing bag-'blanks of gauze between the plunger vand the die, means for .feeding the end-of a gauze-strip into the said Hy whenin its receivlng pos1t1on`, and means for cutting a Abag-blankv from the end ofthe strip after the introduction thereof into theHy and before-it reaches the die.

3. A tea-balling machine having a plunger i and a die, means for supplyingttea in prede,-

termined amounts thereto, a Hy for the in` troduction of a bag-blank horizontally between the plunger and the die, the said Hy being located4 vin the-vertical plane when in its receiving position, means for feeding the end of a gauze-strip downward into the'Hy when in its'reeiving position, and means for cutting the strip between the said'fee'ding means and the mouthpof the Hy. Y

4. A tealballing machine having a plunger and a die, means for supplying tea in predetermined amounts thereto, a Hy located in the vertical plane when in its receiving posi-V f tion and comprising means engaging the opf poslte faces of a gauze-blank for holding the same in its extended'form, means for feeding the en d of a gauze-'stripinto the said Hy lasV when in its receiving position, and means inf l terposed between the said Hy and feeding W means for automatically severing the strip. 5. A tea-balllng'machine having a-plunger and a die, means for supplying tea in predethe vertical` plane when in its receiving posi- .7d termine'd amounts .thereto, a Hy locatedinV tion and comprising an perforated plate formed with an opening for the clearance of the plunger, means for feeding the end of a gauze-strip into the Hy when Vin its receiving position, and means interposed between the saidHy andfeeding means for automatically severing the strip.

' 6. A tea-balling machine having aplunger and a die, means for supplying tea in prede-` termined amounts thereto, a-Hy located in'ithe vertical plane when in its receiving position.

and comprising a perforated pla/te formed with an opening -for the Vclearance of the plunger, and a plurality of wires to complement the confining action of the plate on the other side of the gauze-blank, means for feeding the end of a gauze-strip into the Hy when in its receiving position, and-nieans interposed between the said Hy and feedig means for automatically severing the strip.

'7. tea-balling machine having a plunger and a die, means for supplying tea in predetermined amounts thereto, a Hy located in the vertical plane whenin its receiving p07.l

sition and constructed for the passage through it of the plunger when inI its deliv'f ery position, a pair of feed-rolls located directly above the Hy when in its receiving position for feeding the end of a gauze-strip down into it, andmeans. located below the said feed-rolls for cutting ofi' the end of the strip after the same has been inserted into the Hy. I 8. A tea-balling'maehinehaving means for' introducing a predetermined amountl o'f tea into'agauze bag-blankV and for shaping the same into a -tea-ball, means for trimming the neck of the tea-ball after the same has been loo l tied, arid a starting-manual for'startingthe machine, located adjacent to said trimmingv specification.

' JOHN PIERCE.

'I1/have signed this t 'means for ythe automatic operation thereof 

